Publicis Kaplan Thaler has been named as the lead creative agency for the American seafood restaurant chain, Red Lobster, two months after its account was put into review following a departure from parent company, Darden. Media for the brand is handled by Spark SMG. The chain's creative has been handled by the WPP owned Grey agency since 2010 and prior to that the Richards Group held the account. Grey decided not to participate in the review process for Red lobster, but still fields creative for Darden's sibling brands, the Italian chain Olive Garden and the all-American LongHorn Steakhouse.
Red Lobster's creative has been handled by the WPP owned Grey agency since 2010 and prior to that the Richards Group held the account
The review process began back in April, with the competition narrowed down to four shops. Publicis Kaplan Thaler beat out Interpublic's Martin Agency and the independent agencies, Olson and Barkley for the account, in a process that was overseen by Pile & Co. According to Red Lobster's senior vice president of marketing, Mark Gilley, the Publicis shop was chosen because of the creativity of its pitches, its current work and (most crucially) its digital and social strategy, which is an element the brand are particularly keen on expanding. He said it was the agency's work for Wendy's featuring 90's R&B group Boyz II Men and spokeswoman 'Red' that really sealed the deal, as he thought their tactics “Broke conventions” in the fast-food category. As far as the brand's current “Sea Food Differently” tagline, which was dreamed up by Grey, Gilley isn't certain whether or not Publicis Kaplan Thaler will choose to keep using it, but he expects the first campaign to debut in the first half of 2015.
Darden announced it was planning to sell or spin off the struggling Red lobster brand in December last year, with same-restaurant sales released that suggested a 5.6% decline in the most recent quarter, as apposed to only a 3.5% decline at Olive Garden and a 2.4% increase at LongHorn. Systemwide sales for the Red Lobster brand were also down 3.1% to $2.4 billion last year, ranking the chain as the 26th largest in the country (according to Technomic). The brand is the 144th biggest in the country in terms of spending and spent $156.2 million in measured media last year, down from $159.6 million in 2012.
It was the Publicis Kaplan Thaler's work for Wendy's featuring 90's R&B group Boyz II Men and spokeswoman 'Red' that really sealed the deal
Darden finally relented to pressure in May this year and sold the brand to a private-equity firm, Golden gate Capital for $2.1 billion. Before the sale was announced, Darden's CEO, Clarence Otis, said marketing spending for the brand would decrease, because it had “Floated up higher than is sustainable” as a percentage of sales. He also said that as the company increases digital-marketing capabilities for its brands, they would expect “Television marketing expenses to scale down dramatically.”
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Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who isn't actually a fan of lobster, but once had a delightful shrimp platter at a Red Lobster in Florida.
